Jun 4, 2024 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

The Wild Things have been putting up some big numbers, in both the win column and in players put on the injured list.

Prior to the series-opening game Tuesday night against Windy City, Washington made several roster moves. Relief pitcher Lukas Young was transferred from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Relief pitcher Liam Pulsipher was released and corner infielder Derek Gellos, who recently completed his senior season at Seattle University, was signed.

Young was one of the top closers in the Frontier League the last two years, saving 34 games and winning nine others with only four losses. He pitched in 77 games over those two seasons.

“He’s had some issues going on in his shoulder,” manager Tom Vaeth explained. “We want to give him time to sort things out. He’s fighting some inflammation there.”

Young left a spring training game last month against Florence after throwing only one pitch. His injury, at the time, was described as “normal early season soreness.”

Though he began the regular season on the active roster, Young pitched in only two games, throwing two innings. He pitched one inning in the season-opening series against Schaumburg. Against Tri-City on May 17, Young pitched the ninth inning while trying to protect a two-run lead but yielded a pair of runs. Washington would win the game in 10 innings and Young was credited with a win.

In Young’s place at the back of the bullpen, rookie Gyeongju Kim has thrived. He has a 1-1 record, 6 saves, an 0.71 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.

Washington entered Tuesday night with five players on the injured list. A sixth player, outfielder Wagner Lagrange, had spent seven days on the IL with a groin injury. Lagrange was back in the starting lineup at designated hitter Tuesday after sitting out the past two contests.

Despite the six sidelined players, Washington lost only six of its first 20 games. Vaeth has been able to find quality replacements. The team’s younger and least experienced players have played well when called upon.

“This is not easy,” said Vaeth, who admitted he’s been making as many phone calls this year to check on potential replacements as he did last year at this point, when the club was off to a rocky start.

“It’s tough to play when you know you have only one guy on the bench. You know you’re only one pitch away from having to put a pitcher in the field to fill a spot.

“I’m not asking for any sympathy; it’s just the reality of sitting in this chair. The good thing is we’re getting valuable experience for the younger guys. It has been the older guys who have been out of the lineup.”

Third baseman Tommy Caufield leads the Wild Things in batting average (.320), home runs (6) and RBI (23). Center fielder Caleb McNeely has 20 RBI from the leadoff spot in the batting order, shortstop Carson Clowers is batting .295 with 13 stolen bases, catcher J.C. Santini is hitting at a 2.95 clip and outfielder Robert Chayka is at .288. None of the five, along with Kim, have more than 13 months of pro experience.

“This is when you earn your money as a manager. You have to manage the roster, have to manage the injuries and you try to manage the big picture.”

Extra bases

Windy City is on the final leg of a nine-game road trip that began in Canada, against Trois-Rivieres, and went to Ottawa before moving to Washington. … Wild Things first baseman Andrew Czech drew a walk in the first inning to extend his franchise-record consecutive games on-base streak to 53. … Washington played without Vaeth, who was serving a suspension after being ejected from two of the three games over the weekend in Florence. … The Wild Things wore special ‘Black Out Breast Cancer” jerseys that were auctioned during the game.